Comment by Jorge Jorquera
The August federal budget will most likely put an end to Austudy as a grant scheme. The most likely outcome is the introduction of an optional loans scheme attached to the Austudy grants system.
The loans "option" will force students into further debt. According to a 1990 Department of Education, Employment and Training student expenditure survey, the average full-time away-from-home student's living costs are well over $10,000 per year. Most students on Austudy receive only a fraction of this. The loans scheme, in a recession especially, will be less than "optional".
A loans scheme would force the most needy students into debts amounting to $20,000 or more, if HECS debts are included. Statistics show that these most disadvantaged students are also most likely to enter comparatively low-paid professions, such as teaching, nursing and social welfare. HECS and Austudy loans debts would therefore represent a substantial portion of their projected lifetime incomes.
Options for Austudy
Even the best proposals likely to be introduced by the budget will include cutbacks to Austudy. All the proposals are aimed at government savings on financial support to students. This will be achieved mainly by cutting back the number of students receiving Austudy.
The Austudy review summarised in Dr Bruce Chapman's options paper withholds the detail on this, but is clear in its intent. Option 8.1 of the report reads, "That the definition of taxable income for the purpose of eligibility for Austudy be altered so as not to allow certain discretionary deductions to reduce income". The government estimates it will save $16 million this way. With these savings it will pay for some adjustments to Austudy that will help sell the package. This will probably include the lowering of the age for independent Austudy.
At the same time, however, some form of loans scheme will be introduced.
Just like the $250 Administration Charge that led to HECS, the optional loans scheme is intended to lead to a wholesale butchering of the Austudy grants scheme. Once again, it is the backdoor policy of the ALP that produces the best results for big business. The Fraser Liberal government could not have even dreamed of getting away with the "reforms" the ALP has achieved.
NUS claims victory
National Union of Students general secretary Pablo Campillos has publicly stated his support for the Chapman optional loans scheme in reforms, like the lowering of the age at which a student is eligible for Austudy from 25 to 21 years of age.
According to the Queensland NUS Uni News, "The Minister for Higher Education Mr Baldwin has recently indicated his willingness to discuss NUS's Austudy Reforms. Affirmation was forthcoming for possible adjustment of the age of independence to 21 years of age."
The six-point list of NUS "Austudy Reforms" does not mention opposition to the introduction of a loans scheme. NUS's strategy is not unlike that of the ACTU, which is happy to negotiate away wage rises in exchange for a bit more superannuation for a few workers.
NUS claims that it has achieved a victory for students. In reality, it works as the government's agent, attempting to sell students an Austudy reform package that will take us back to the pre-Whitlam days and introduce what the Liberals are suggesting — a sort of voucher system for higher education.
The first NUS National Day of Action this year, on March 26, demonstrated the potential for a student fight back. But NUS immediately began to put the breaks on further protests.
Nationally, the second NUS National Day of Action on May 27 was less than half the size of the March 26 protest. In Sydney there wasn't even a rally organised. NUS had already begun to claim "victory". Expanding the campaign was not on its agenda.
After its purely verbal opposition to the Chapman loans scheme and a token campaign of student protests, NUS has now accepted the introduction of a loans scheme in exchange for some crumbs from the ALP government.
Can we save Austudy?
If Austudy is to be saved, it will require a campaign of mass student protests focused on unconditional opposition to the loans scheme. There is no point arguing for other reforms if this is in the context of losing the Austudy grant scheme. Such reforms will benefit only small numbers of students at best.
After this year's experience, it should be clear to student activists that such a campaign cannot be built effectively through NUS. Contrary to its own claims, NUS does not represent Australian students. NUS represents the interests of the ALP government. It was formed and still functions as part of Labor's corporatist strategy.
Right now, left and progressive students need to focus their attention on building a national day of action around the August budget, demanding that no loans scheme be introduced.